With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, Insurance happens to be a mega
opportunity in India. It's a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs 450 billion. Together with banking services, it adds about 7 per cent to the country's GDP. Gross premium
collection is nearly 2 per cent of GDP and funds available with LIC for investments are 8 per cent of GDP.

Yet, nearly 80 per cent of Indian population is without life insurance cover while health insurance and
non-life insurance continues to be below international standards. And this part of the population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with hardly any old age income security. This it is an indicator that
growth potential for the insurance sector is immense.

A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is needed for economic development as it provides long term funds for infrastructure development and at the same
time strengthens the risk taking ability. It is estimated that over the next ten years India would require investments of the order of one trillion US dollar. The Insurance sector, to some extent, can enable investments in
infrastructure development to sustain economic growth of the country. Insurance is a federal subject in India. There are two legislations that govern the sector- The Insurance Act- 1938 and the IRDA Act- 1999.

In
India, insurance is generally considered as a tax-saving device instead of its other implied long term financial benefits. Indian people are prone to investing in properties and gold followed by bank deposits.
They selectively invest in shares also but the percentage is very small. Even to this day, Life Insurance Corporation of India dominates Indian insurance sector. With the entry of private sector players backed by foreign
expertise, Indian insurance market has become more vibrant.

Historical Perspective

The history of life insurance in India dates back to 1818 when it was conceived as a means to provide for
English Widows. Interestingly in those days a higher premium was charged for Indian lives than the non-Indian lives as Indian lives were considered more riskier for coverage.

The Bombay Mutual Life Insurance
Society started its business in 1870. It was the first company to charge same premium for both Indian and non-Indian lives. The Oriental Assurance Company was established in 1880. The General insurance business in India, on the
other hand, can trace its roots to the Triton (Tital) Insurance Company Limited, the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British. Till the end of nineteenth century insurance business was
almost entirely in the hands of overseas companies.

Insurance regulation formally began in India with the passing of the Life Insurance Companies Act of 1912 and the provident fund Act of 1912. Several frauds during
20's and 30's sullied insurance business in India. By 1938 there were 176 insurance companies. The first comprehensive legislation was introduced with the Insurance Act of 1938 that provided strict State Control over insurance
business. The insurance business grew at a faster pace after independence. Indian companies strengthened their hold on this business but despite the growth that was witnessed, insurance remained an urban phenomenon.

The Government of India in 1956, brought together over 240 private life insurers and provident societies under one nationalized monopoly corporation and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) was born. Nationalization was justified on
the grounds that it would create much needed funds for rapid industrialization. This was in conformity with the Government's chosen path of State lead planning and development.

The (non-life) insurance business
continued to thrive with the private sector till 1972. Their operations were restricted to organized trade and industry in large cities. The general insurance industry was nationalized in 1972. With this, nearly 107 insurers were
amalgamated and grouped into four companies- National Insurance Company, New India Assurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company. These were subsidiaries of the General Insurance Company (GIC).

Indian federal government considers insurance as one of major sources of funds for infrastructure development. The government has identified the following as major thrust areas:

* Timely and reliable
statistical data and information about policies and markets to instill a degree of credibility; * A code of good practices based on international best practices to raise the standard of Indian insurance sector;
* Strengthening of supervision and regulation; * Market participation in decision-making; * High solvency standard' and Developing alternative channels.

Till end of 1999-2000 fiscal years, two state-run
insurance companies, namely, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and General Insurance Corporation (GIC) were the monopoly insurance (both life and non-life) providers in India. Under GIC there were four subsidiaries-- National
Insurance Company Ltd, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, New India Assurance Company Ltd, and United India Assurance Company Ltd. In fiscal 2000-01, the Indian federal government lifted all entry restrictions for private sector
investors. Foreign investment insurance market was also allowed with 26 percent cap.

GIC
was converted into India's national reinsure from December, 2000 and all the subsidiaries working under the GIC umbrella were restructured
as independent insurance companies.

Indian Parliament has cleared a Bill on July 30, 2002 de-linking the four subsidiaries from GIC. A separate Bill has been approved by Parliament to allow brokers,
cooperatives and intermediaries in the sector. Currently insurance companies- both private and public-- have to cede 20 percent of its reinsurance with GIC. GIC is planning to increase re-insurance premium by 20 percent which works
out at Rs 3000 cr. GIC is actively considering entry into overseas markets including West Asia, South-east Asia and SAARC region.

Insurance Sector Reforms

In 1993, Malhotra Committee- headed
by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra- was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms
initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and
recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms. In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations
included:

i) Structure

Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations. All the insurance companies should be given
greater freedom to operate.

ii) Competition

Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1bn should be allowed to enter the sector. No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance
through a single entity. Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration with the domestic companies.

Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market. Only one State
Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operate in each state.

iii) Regulatory Body

The Insurance Act should be changed. An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up. Controller of
Insurance- a part of the Finance Ministry- should be made independent

iv) Investments

Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be reduced from 75% to 50%. GIC and its
subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company (there current holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of time)

v) Customer Service

LIC should pay interest on delays in
payments beyond 30 days. Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension plans. Computerization of operations and updating of technology to be carried out in the insurance industry

The committee
emphasized that in order to improve the customer services and increase the coverage of insurance policies, industry should be opened up to competition. But at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise caution as any
failure on the part of new players could ruin the public confidence in the industry.

The committee felt the need to provide greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve their performance and enable
them to act as independent companies with economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed setting up an independent regulatory body- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.

Reforms in the Insurance
sector were initiated with the passage of the IRDA Bill in Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as a statutory body in April 2000 has fastidiously stuck to its schedule of framing regulations and
registering the private sector insurance companies. Since being set up as an independent statutory body the IRDA has put in a framework of globally compatible regulations. The other decision taken simultaneously to provide the
supporting systems to the insurance sector and in particular the life insurance companies was the launch of the IRDA online service for issue and renewal of licenses to agents. The approval of institutions for imparting training to
agents has also ensured that the insurance companies would have a trained workforce of insurance agents in place to sell their products.

Present Scenario

The Government of India liberalized the
insurance sector in March 2000 with the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Bill, lifting all entry restrictions for private players and allowing foreign players to enter the market with some limits
on direct foreign ownership. Under the current guidelines, there is a 26 percent equity cap for foreign partners in an insurance company. There is a proposal to increase this limit to 49 percent.

The opening up of
the sector is likely to lead to greater spread and deepening of insurance in India and this may also include restructuring and revitalizing of the public sector companies. In the private sector 12 life insurance and 8 general
insurance companies have been registered. A host of private Insurance companies operating in both life and non-life segments have started selling their insurance policies since 2001.

Non-Life Insurance Market

In December 2000, the GIC subsidiaries were restructured as independent insurance companies. At the same time, GIC was converted into a national re-insurer. In July 2002, Parliament passed a bill, de-linking the
four subsidiaries from GIC.

Presently there are 12 general insurance companies with 4 public sector companies and 8 private insurers. Although the public sector companies still dominate the general insurance
business, the private players are slowly gaining a foothold. According to estimates, private insurance companies have a 10 percent share of the market, up from 4 percent in 2001. In the first half of 2002, the private companies
booked premiums worth Rs 6.34 billion. Most of the new entrants reported losses in the first year of their operation in 2001.

Insurance, like project finance, is extended by a consortium. Normally one insurer takes
the lead, shouldering about 40-50 per cent of the risk and receiving a proportionate percentage of the premium. The other companies share the remaining risk and premium. The policies are renewed usually on an annual basis through
the invitation of bids.

Of late, with IPP projects fizzling out, the insurance companies are turning once again to old hands such as NTPC, NHPC and BSES for business.

Re-insurance business

The balance risk is re-insured with other insurers. In effect, therefore, re-insurance is insurer's insurance. It forms the backbone of the insurance business. It helps to provide a better spread of risk in the
international market, allows primary insurers to accept risks beyond their capacity settle accumulated losses arising from catastrophic events and still maintain their financial stability.

Life Insurance Market

The Life Insurance market in India is an underdeveloped market that was only tapped by the state owned LIC till the entry of private insurers. The penetration of life insurance products was 19 percent of the
total 400 million of the insurable population. The state owned LIC sold insurance as a tax instrument, not as a product giving protection. Most customers were under- insured with no flexibility or transparency in the products. With
the entry of the private insurers the rules of the game have changed.

The growing popularity of the private insurers shows in other ways. They are coining money in new niches that they have introduced. The state
owned companies still dominate segments like endowments and money back policies. But in the annuity or pension products business, the private insurers have already wrested over 33 percent of the market. And in the popular
unit-linked insurance schemes they have a virtual monopoly, with over 90 percent of the customers.

With an annual growth rate of 15-20% and the largest number of life insurance policies in force, the potential of
the Indian insurance industry is huge. Total value of the Indian insurance market (2004-05) is estimated at Rs. 450 billion (US$10 billion). According to government sources, the insurance and banking services' contribution to the
country's gross domestic product (GDP) is 7% out of which the gross premium collection forms a significant part. The funds available with the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for investments are 8% of GDP.

The year 1999 saw a revolution in the Indian insurance sector, as major structural changes took place with the ending of government monopoly and the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA) Bill, lifting all entry restrictions for private players and allowing foreign players to enter the market with some limits on direct foreign ownership.

Though the focus of this market research report is on
the potential growth on the Indian Insurance Sector, it also talks about the market size, market segmentation, and key developments in the market after 1999. The report gives an instant overview of the Indian non-life insurance
market, and covers fire, marine, and other non-life insurance. The data is supplied in both graphical and tabular format for ease of interpretation and analysis. This report also provides company profiles of the major private
insurance companies.